The Duelist's Heart
by Zhane Remlez
Summary: Six friends have finally made it to college together. However because of a machine and some help from Spirit Energy they are transported into a different world to save it. From where they came from it was just a card game, but now it is a way of life. With scattered memories they must find each other and the clues to saving both worlds. Rated M for Strong Language
1. Shizuka

Shizuka

Everything was pounding. The sky was fluctuating. His heart beat accelerated. A small boy was on the ground clutching his chest. Pain seared through his body like an inferno. "RAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!" His eyes burst open, one brown one blue. They were glowing lightly at first and then stronger. Soon there was the sound of an explosion nearby. In an instant he got up, unaware of anything. His body told him to run, run far away. The stars themselves seemed to be dimming. He heard people calling him, people that didn't exist. People that weren't around. He remembered a letter. The letter to no one. Tears poured down from his face. The pain… the loneliness. The fire that burned like ice stabbed his heart. What… was he?

His name was Shizuka, last he remembered he was a freshman in college, age 15. He stumbled a bit and fell. With a grimace he rolled forward and got back up on his feet to keep running. Something was after him, something he couldn't run from. Something in front of him. Something behind him? Where was it? What was it? He saw some large demon-like figure in the horizon. His heart stopped for a moment. Then at long last he was falling with his long raven-black hair trailing behind him looking like a shadow of himself almost. The demon was the rising sun… he was falling… where? To the ground… why was he still falling? It was a cliff. With a small thud he hit the soft sand below and passed out.

"My name is… Shizuka… I am in my body I had when I was a younger kid… I am in a different place… I have never been here… I am… lonely… I am… scared." He kept mumbling those words over and over in his sleep. Nightmares anguished him, nightmares of nothing. Nightmares of the letter. That bittersweet letter. A small light was seen shining right next to the boy, seeming to protect and illuminate him. Kind old hands found him and began to carry him.


	2. Tal

Tal

The ground was cold and a constant buzzing sound permeated the air. She felt like shit. The teen girl got up in obviously baggy clothes to look around. Her short brown hair stayed perfectly in place. It was an alleyway, a cold, dirty, wet, and gross alley way. Not unlike the ones back home she thought. But then she was thinking again. What did she remember from home? Nothing. It pissed her off so badly. Only one name stuck in her head, Shinji. She kept remembering his smiling face and his crying one too. She remembered her name was Tal but that was unimportant. Was Shinji safe? Where was he? Her heart started racing as she was wondering where he was. A few things flashed through her head, she was a freshman in college, age 18, or at least was. Her body seemed to be that of when she was quite a bit younger.

She tried standing up but quickly fell down. "Fuck!" Her fist beat against the hard ground before she stood up again. She wasn't exactly feeling well right now. Her body was crying out in agony. Surges of pain. Her body didn't matter. What she was feeling didn't matter. Not one damn bit! Shinji, Shinji. He couldn't survive it alone. "DAMN IT ALL!"

Her bones creaked and blood started dripping from her legs as she forced herself up to start running. The wind whipped past her face and athletic body. Faster. She had to go faster. She had to see where he was. Her green eyes scanned the area frantically for him. She knew there were others. However she couldn't remember them. The bitter cold was reflected in the night sky. As it slowly got brighter she ran into an alleyway and into someone. The sun was rising. Then a bang. The gun fired straight and true. Her body fell backwards. What happened? It was painful? She caught herself and with a fire in her eyes retaliated with a mindless punch. Her fist hit a skull, she could hear a crack before falling forward. As the sun was rising it all became dimmer for her. A dim light encompassed her body; it seemed to glow with a fierce protectiveness. Eventually a kind, dark hand reached for her.


	3. Troy

Troy

A boy sat up. That hurt. That really freaking hurts. He adjusted his black beanie with a gear on it. His medium-length brown hair was a surprisingly neat at the moment considering the rest of his body. There had to be something he was missing. His baggy clothes almost fell off when he attempted to stand. After brushing himself off he stood there.

It was time to think and evaluate the situation. His heart started racing. With slight pains he began walking. He was in a city, a factory one it seemed. Aimlessly he wandered, trying to find something. In his head he began thinking. I am Troy; I am seventeen years of age. I am a college freshman. This place is familiar but completely different. This was, Seattle? His normally somewhat tight black muscle shirt drooped down and he wondered about his appearance. This certainly doesn't seem too bad. Then it finally registered. He was in pain. Excruciating pain. No wonder I'm so calm, he thought. He almost began running out of frustration but merely continued walking. He had a goal. This is not truly Seattle. This was not the same world he came from. This much he knew. He did not know much else except that he was in a body approximately five years younger. As he wandered through the dark city his mind was racing some more.

Have I been drugged? Have I been transported? Before he knew it he was in the middle of the street somehow. A car was speeding towards him. His eyes widened. In an instant he rolled out of the way. A police officer came to chastise him for being in the road. The officer then looked at him with sad eyes. "Where are your parents?"

"I have no idea."

"Come on, let's find out." The Police officer held out her hand and shrugged. She wasn't corrupt. She was one of the good ones. With a slight reassurance Troy decided to trust her and took her hand.


	4. Akari

Akari

Something was off. Something was wrong. Akari was sweating profusely and then sat up in a hurry. Her pupils were dilated. There was a fire. A burning fire inside. She thought. Her short blonde hair quivered ever so slightly in the breeze. She got up in her baggy clothes. Her body swayed slightly. Her eyes had a fire in the blueness of them. There was a red hot fire burning inside. She was missing someone. But who? She was here for a reason but what? A card flashed through her head. All she knew was that she was somewhere, somewhere else and card games were involved. "ALRIGHT! I'LL BE THE BEST DUELIST EVER!" She immediately closed her mouth as she heard her squeaky voice. Didn't she already go through puberty? Then it hit her, she was in a younger body of hers. "DAMNITT!" She took off running a bit but then stopped. Where was she? It was hot. The night sky was illuminated by a hot redness behind her. Then it hit her, this was a volcano. Sweet!

Wait, redness? Lava? Not sweet. In a moment she took off running down. She kicked her too big high heels off while running. My name is Akari, I am… was an 18 year old freshman in college. After getting more of her thoughts together she danced around rocks while going down. Her slim body seemed to shine as she ran towards the rising sun. A smile appeared on her face at its beauty. Well, she shouldn't sweat the small stuff. Just relax and go where life takes her! The mountain started rumbling. Her speed accelerated and she came to a cliff. Instead of jumping off she tried going for a detour. As she looked to her left she saw a real hottie walking by on a dirt road. He knew how to look good. Still not as hot as my man she thought fiercely. Then she wondered he who was. She'd remember. The guy noticed her and then called out to her. With a spring in her step

Akari ran towards him. Maybe he'd know where she could get some cards.


	5. Hikaru

Hikaru

Let life drift by like a wave. With his eyes closed he drifted along in the harsh waters, his crimson hair trailing behind him. In a moment green eyes opened and he felt his heartbeat. A rushing, roaring sound could be heard. It was coming to swallow him whole. A crackling resonated right next to him. His baggy clothes he noticed were washed away from him. Well, at least he had an excuse to be naked. With a determined look he turned around and looked at the incoming wave. Voices seemed to resonate in his head. "Hikaru! You spend too much time in the water! You'll shrivel up! Come shopping with me and we'll raid the town!" It was a pretty girl with blonde hair. No, not pretty, stunning, beautiful.

"Hikaru… I uh, I made you a cake. Happy birthday. Uh- uhm by the way. If you're ever at the beach and a huge wave is coming…"

"Don't give in!" The blonde girl chimed in, interrupting the amazingly handsome and cute black haired guy.

"Relax your body and don't try to swim up if the wave is still on top…"

"Do a sixteen hit combo and use your willpower to bust through like blah!"

"Take note of your surroundings like reefs and avoid them…"

"Shout like ORAAAA and then keep on swimming! But also become a master of the ocean and let the waves do your bidding!"

They kept on talking and Hikaru sat there smiling then he came back to his senses. He was in a smaller body. He was Hikaru a college freshman. That was all that he remembered except for some beautiful faces and voices that filled him with power and helplessness. A whirlpool. Those two. He cared more for them than he cared for himself. With a single tear he thought of how he was separated from them. Then with resolve he figured, he just needed to find them.

The words flowed through his head and he ducked underwater with a relaxed body. Looked around. Perfect. There was land, shore. After the first wave he pushed forward. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen. "ORAAAAA!" His body seemed to jump out of the water as he swam. The current was with him. The wave was carrying him now. It was cold, the moon shone on his back.

After what seemed to be hours his strength still wasn't sapped. The same words repeating in his head gave him strength. He counted his breaths in sixteenths. Kept everything in mind and his heart, although raging inside beat calm. Finally he washed ashore and stood up immediately. He put his hands on his hips as he swayed right. With a little slap he smiled. "I did it."

Looking forward he saw quite a young man in his twenties looking at him. In another second he threw him a pair of trunks. "Yo bro. That was some wicked swimming."


	6. Angela

Angela

She closed her eyes and began running. Running away as far as she could. Then in a rush she woke up; tear stains on her face. Her rainbow hair swished and swayed in front of her face. What happened? She got up and brushed herself off. She was missing her friends. Her dark skin seemed to blend in with the shadows. "Like a rainbow. Like coco." She whispered in tears. She missed her friends so much right now.

Shooting stars rained across the sky and she heard something rustling. "People." Her heart was bleeding. Before she knew it she took off running. She felt a friend was nearby. Her legs accelerated and she barely held onto her clothes. She noticed it for the first time, she was smaller and her clothes were too big. She didn't care. She had a friend nearby. Then she tripped it was all in her head. Images and names flashed. Shizuka, Tal, Troy, Akari, Hikaru, all of them. She missed them so much. "My name is Angela I am an 18 year old freshman who is missing her friends. So much." She kicked the ground angrily and then sat down and began to think. She wasn't quite as good as any of them in anything. She was useless.

"I need my A team. I need my friends…" All she knew at that moment was a burning desire, a passion to find them. To see them. They were the only people she cared about at the moment. She began walking and finally came to a new place.

The grassy hill was nice and peaceful. Almost too peaceful. Then there was a growl. She was ready to run.

Hours later she walked into a camp site bruised and bloody. Claw marks all over her body. She coughed up blood before falling to the ground. The impossible earth, she swore she felt it's turn. People rushed to help her but she was too scared to say anything. They were speaking in a language she didn't know so it was just as well. She couldn't talk to strangers. When the sun rose she was blinded but sighed. She heard the sounds of cards flitting by, and with that she felt at peace. She knew how to find them.


	7. What's in a Soul?

What's in a Soul

The sun was shining on his face. His body felt cold. A voice was whispering. He felt light and heavy. Then finally he came crashing down. He saw his body and woke up. The sun was shining and he was in a dirt hole. "I am alive." He slowly got up and gingerly felt his lips. His heart beat but he felt it. He felt the ground. He didn't notice that he was glowing. With great ease he crawled out of the hole. "Shizuka."

"Yes?" He turned around to see the voice behind him. No one was there. He racked his brain. It. It was just another episode. He began walking. He felt the lightning crash in his head. A soldier of light and darkness. She fought so hard and desperately but succumbed to death. Only to be alive. Shizuka felt hands touch his lips that weren't his own.

"Shizuka. I am here." It was nothing but a whisper on the wind. Then he noticed a glowing light in the hole. He hopped down. "Call to me. Call me as you always have."

He picked up the card and then had such a mix of emotions it was impossible to explain. "Watashi no tamashii! Akarui! Yami! Chaos Shokan!" (My Soul! Light! Dark! Chaos Summon!) The light glowed even more intensely and a wind blew around. The card shined heavily and finally a soldier in shining blue armor with long crimson hair was kneeling before him. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Shizuka. I am here." At that moment an elderly person who saw this phenomenon had the shock of their lives.

She got up, exhausted. She gingerly felt her head. There was a hole. A painful hole. A hole that was closing up. Tal gasped, she was shot! She… was alive? How did? Not a single person was around at the moment. "Tal!" It was a low grumbling voice.

"Who is it? What d'ya want with me?" She turned around only to see nothing but a wall on a building.

"Tal!" She began remembering seeing her body as she came down. Her heart started beating.

She looked around viscously. Fuck. What was going on? Why did she feel like collapsing? Yet why did she feel better now than ever before? "Where are ya?"

"TAL! LOOK HERE RA DAMNITT!" She turned around once more and then saw a shining card on the ground. It felt familiar. It was hers. It was part of her. She slowly began to pick it up.

She felt the emotions of the card, embarrassed, happy, excited. He was calling to here because he was lonely. Memories came rushing back! "Let's see if I still remember the whole schpiel."

"Call me, as you always have."

"Ore no tamashii! Yami! Akarui! Chaos Shokan!" (My soul! Dark! Light! Chaos Summon!)

The wind picked up and started blowing everywhere as the card glowed brighter than ever before. Finally a large dragon appeared. His long crimson mane flowed behind it. The silver armor shined brilliantly in the sun, much like his blue body.

Meanwhile a boxing coach felt the meaning of fear for the first time.


	8. Where Dreams Begin

Where Dreams Begin

Troy looked around before falling down. His face was flushed and he was so very tired. The lady checked. There were no records of Troy ever existing, anywhere. She looked at him concerned as he lay there passed out on his couch. Finally hours later he woke up to the smell of sizzling meat. He felt drool drip down his mouth.

"Casey, down!" The yellow lab yipped and then jumped off of Troy. "So, are you hungry?"

"… Uh, I think so."

"What's your name kid, I couldn't find you in any databases."

"Troy, Troy…" He grasped his head. His last name, what was it? "I… have no idea." The shock hit him. He didn't even know who he was.

She sighed and then handed him a deck of cards. "Here, I'll teach you how to play. It'll keep your mind off worrying about things. My name is Liz."

The cards felt oddly familiar, he nodded with a solemn look on his face.

"Hey! Hot guy! Cutie with the good clothes!" The man turned around, his eggshell scarf twirled ever so slightly.

"Oh honey, we need to run back to the village. Get away from the scary volcano, 'kay?" She didn't like to assume things but this guy was almost as flaming as he was hot.

"Are you gay?"

"Aren't you a young girl?"

"Not on the inside."

"Ew. Let's just hurry." He took her hand and they took off running to the village. Eventually after half of an hour of running they made it.

"Woohoo! That was awesome! Fun! Sweet! You run really really fast!" He sighed, unsure of whether he could handle her. "Oh yeah! Cards! I want to duel! Errr, how do I duel again? I know I used to a lot! I was like really good at it too! I'd play cards like wabam! Ya know? I'd be like thirty two hit ultra killer combo -" His hand was soon over her mouth.

"First things first. Name?" He removed his hand.

"Akari." He then put it back on before she could go on.

"Okay darling, my name's Kaleel. I'll teach you how to play so relax okay. Afterwords we can sort out the other things." He handed her a deck and then she started shuffling. These felt really familiar, and it was awesome.

It was time to have a heated battle to prove who was more on fire! She never lost when it came to hot-bloodedness! Even if he is flaming…


	9. Cards in Hand

Cards in Hand

Hikaru put on the shorts he was handed. The tanned guy was a surfer and he was apparently in California. "So, like little dude. I saw you swimming for life and I was about to run out and get you but you made it. You're really awesome! But, why were you out there?"

Hikaru looked down silently. His brain started hurting. Why? Tears started to almost come from his face and he felt pathetic. "I… don't know."

The surfer sighed. The sun came up and was shining brilliantly. "Bro, just look ahead. You might not know what you were there for but, like. It doesn't matter. The sun is still rising beautifully. I'm going to do some surfing and then let's head back to my place, k?"

Hikaru smiled. "Sure."

Hikaru was working out in the mean time a little bit to pass the time while the guy was surfing. Finally hours later they were heading back. "My name is Jordan by the way."

"My name's Hikaru."

"Interesting name, so, what do you plan on doing next?"

"Find my friends and strip two of them."

Jordan looked at Hikaru completely perplexed. He sounded way too serious. "What was that?"

"Find my friends and thank two of them."

Eventually they went inside; it was a cramped apartment that was somewhat messy except for one area which was completely clean. "Hey, we can always play duel monsters to pass the time."

"I'm not sure I know how to play." Jordan dropped his jaw. That was a new one. Then he smiled.

"It's cool, I'll teach ya."

The cards felt familiar in Hikaru's hands. Before he knew it he was back to his old self. He had a smirk on his face along with sharpness in his eyes. "Let's begin, Duel!"

Angela finally regained her consciousness to full effect. It seemed as if she was staying with the leader of this group. They all wore modern clothes it was just a rural area. Some of them vaguely reminded her of Shinji and Hikaru.

"Ohayo nee-san!" A small kid looked at her with a smile and waved. They were Japanese. Then it hit her, the kid was small but the exact same height as her. She was smaller. She didn't speak Japanese, what did she do?

"You speak English, yes?"

She nodded fervently. It was an older man with eyes that never seemed to open and a rather shiny head at the moment.

"I speak. A little bit. Come." She followed him for what seemed to be a short while. Eventually they arrived to a shrine. Instinctively she threw a coin in the offering box and then bowed. Clapped twice before bowing again.

"You know some of the customs."

She nodded then pointed to her open wounds.

The old man started laughing. "It matters not child. Where did you learn?" She nervously racked her brain and then wrote friend in the ground. Smiling the old man took a deep breath and then rose. He walked away a bit and shortly returned with two different decks. "Let us play."

She smiled. But then wrote "I forget how" in the ground.

The old man laughed again and then continued smiling. "I'll teach you. But first, what is your name?"

She struggled and then barely managed to squeak something out. "Angela… I forget my last name." Finally her body was heating up and she was about to pass out. "I'm… at… my… limit…"

"So you have trouble speaking?" She nodded. "My name is Arata Jun. Call me Ojii-san as the other kids do." He then handed her the cards.

The cards felt so natural. It was as if she found a part of herself. "I AM THE COCOA RAINBOW! AND I AM HERE TO BRING THE BEAT, DOWN! Awww yeah!"


	10. Legends of Sass

Legends of Sass

He felt the power flow through him. He felt the darkness and the light. Shizuka looked around. Then he sighed. Maintaining the link was too draining. He didn't have enough energy. The world grew dark as he was falling down. It was too much. The female soldier disappeared before he hit the ground. Old and kind hands carried him inside. Hours later Shizuka woke up.

"Where am I?"

The elderly woman looked at him with surprise. "Child, you're awake. I feared for your life."

Shizuka's head was pounding. The card was still in his hand. He looked at her. Then at the old woman. "This card… is special to me. I think. I should use it."

The old woman smiled kindly. "Tell me child, what is your name?"

He looked at her blankly. "Shizuka." She gasped. The local legends are true. Just as foretold. To think, it would be her to herald in his welcoming. She immediately bowed.

"I am not worthy! And I thank you!"

"W-What's going on?" He stammered, utterly confused.

"You generally go by Shinji, do you not?"

He looked down, an almost sadness in his eyes. "I haven't come from this world, have I?"

She nodded happily before embracing him. "You are our light child! You and your friends. Oh dear. But how, how will you help us?"

Shinji stared at his card. "With this, I think." The elderly woman already prepared two decks.

"This was my partner's old deck; please use it in our duel."

He grabbed the cards and sighed. It was time to duel.

"Wait, so according to some legend I have to come here to save this world with a children's card game?"

"To be fair it also predicted that this game would also be projected into the air and played while on moving vehicles so how true can it be?"

With a sudden shock it hit Shinji. He almost cried and laughed inside. "Card games on motorcycles…"

CHARACTER BREAK: ( I AM DOING THIS NOW BECAUSE IT IS QUITE AWKWARD AS LINE BREAKS DON'T SEEM TO TRANSLATE WELL!)

She then immediately passed out. What was happening? Dark hands carried her to a dark room. She woke up to a loud thumping. It sounded familiar. Then she shouted it out. "A PUNCHING BAG!"

The man looked at her surprised. "You're finally awake."

"FUCK THIS HURTS!"

"A lady shouldn't be using such language."

"A man should be a bit more understanding. I got shot in my fucking head! Damn! IT HURTS! Aghh!" She hit her arm and then jumped up. The card was still in her other hand in pristine condition.

He sighed. "How did you survive?"

She got up. "Why didn't you take me to a hospital?"

"In case of a police investigation with this weird supernatural stuff."

"Good call. Anyways. Let me hit the bag."

He put his head in his hands. The dim light shined brilliantly off of his shaved head. His beard rustled ever so slightly and his muscles bulged as he quivered ever so slightly with something. "Kid, go hit that bag until you calm down so we can talk about what to do."

She walked over and got in position. She hit it once incredibly hard and her skin was being torn off of her hand. Then she twisted her body to hit with the next punch. After ten more minutes she was done, satisfied. "That was great!"

"You're supposed to wear gloves."

"It's fine, I'm used to it." She proudly declared. She grabbed the card she set down on the bed before punching. "I'd like to learn how to use this. I feel like I need to but I forgot."

He sighed. "Well then, let's see if I have enough cards to make a spare."

"Wow, even someone like you plays this? Does everyone?"

He looked at her with a genuinely confused look. "Of course. Have you been living under a rock or are you not from this planet."

"Given the freaky supernatural shit going on, take your guess big boy." He shook his head before constructing a quick deck. She had all of the sass. Soon he returned and handed her a deck. It felt quite nice. She shuffled it and it felt so natural. "Let's begin, duel." She said with a smile.

If she didn't remind him of his daughter he would not put up with this.


End file.
